'We have abandoned common decency'

by

The Silent Gardens monument in downtown Kingston was established in memory of children killed under tragic circumstances.

What kind of nation are we? We chop children to death; we rape and kill girls just entering their teens. We wantonly kill women who want to leave abusive relationships. In addition, as if that was not bad enough, we turn around and blame governments.

Did the government make you lose control when your woman decide that she wanted to leave? Did the government put the machete in your hand and compel you to chop off her head? Was it the government that made you abduct, rape and kill a 13-year-old girl who just wanted to go home to a nice, warm dinner and the love of her family after a tough day at school?

Was it the government that made you chop and kill an eight-year-old child just because you were in the middle of a domestic situation? Why is it that we seem so incapable of resolving our differences without sacrificing someone's life?

None of these things is the fault of anyone but ourselves.

We are the ones trapped in a past where all things ended violently. We are supposed to be beyond the thinking of an eye for an eye. We should be evolved enough to understand that life is not perfect, life is not an ideal. Living our best lives does not about necessarily mean making it big and showing off our material wealth on our less-fortunate 'friends'.

Life should be about living well with our neighbours and not coveting them for the things they own. Life should be about helping where we can and being honest as best we can. Life is about being as human as we can be, acknowledging our mistakes and trying to learn from them.

We seem to have forgotten how to live like this. We have abandoned common decency. We have left behind the things that made Jamaica a wonderful place to visit and a great place to live.

Yes, many of us were disenfranchised by political systems, but that was only because we allowed ourselves to be led by people who appealed to our basic wants, our propensity to be swayed by shiny things.

Nevertheless, we are better than this. If each us takes the time to take a closer look at ourselves and make the decisions to shed the things that we know are not good, and embrace the characteristics that make us better, we will finally be able to move forward as a nation.